


Of the Nineteenth of December and Babysitting Adventures

by Thegreenofyoureyes



Series: Christmas Fics 2015 [19]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, Lashton don't have any, M/M, and don't want any, but I really like this one even if they're not realistic emotions, i don't know where the idea came from, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 21:33:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5471516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thegreenofyoureyes/pseuds/Thegreenofyoureyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashton and Luke didn't have kids of their own. They did, however, have a nice kid’s room set up for little guests, and there were always plenty of toys. Their house was neater than that of a parent’s, but they made up for the cleanliness with an ever-present spread of crafts across various surfaces. </p>
<p>The plan, as they saw it, was to help Mali and Robbie make something for Michael and Calum (with clay. It would totally not be a disaster) while pulling what they wanted out of them. Turns out, it was just that simple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of the Nineteenth of December and Babysitting Adventures

**Author's Note:**

> Day 19! I actually read this one aloud to @Tanniri on Tumblr as I wrote it which was fun! I'd like to say that I know having kids or not is a sensitive topic, and I don't necessarily believe that what I've written here is true of the real-world people. It's just an interesting emotional balance, one I share in many ways, that I wanted to explore. I love this AU, and have several other ideas for it that I may post later.

Ashton’s phone rang at around noon. Ashton was away from it for the moment, though, shoveling their walkway, so Luke would have to answer it for him. It wasn't unusual, not in the least. Luke’s husband (husband! It had been four years and Luke wasn't sure he'd ever grow tired of remembering it) was unreliable at best when it came to phones. This meant that he was often a secretary for the older man, but he certainly never minded it. 

“Oh thank god you picked up,” the voice on the other end of the line said, “I’ve tried like three other people. Wait, who is this?”

“Luke,” Luke said “hello, by the way, Calum. So nice to talk to you.”

“Hi Luke, it's nice to talk to you too. I need something though.”

“Of course we can watch your kids for the afternoon. What's up?”

“How did you know?” Calum asked, before swing in his dad-voice “no, Mali, you have to *eat* the bananas not mush them on your brother.”

“Everything alright?” Luke asked, trying to hold back his amusement. (And relief that he didn't have children. Good lord.) 

“Yes. Everything's fine. You're sure you can watch the kids?”

“Of course I'm sure. We love them, honestly. I should probably tell Ash though. When will you be coming by?”

“About an hour?” Calum said. 

“You're coming today? It's a good thing Ash decided to shovel now, I guess.” Luke replied, looking out at his husband who was decidedly not shoveling, and in fact playing with one of their dogs. 

“Shoveling? Is there snow?”

“Well, yes. Ashton isn't just doing it for fun.”

“Shoot. How much?”

“Shoot?”

“I have kids, Luke. How much snow?”

“About four inches. Shouldn't take you too long. Though longer than Ashton cause you've got that ridiculous driveway. Have you really not looked outside today?”

“No, I haven't. My lovely children are just at the stage where their attempts to kill themselves might actually start working. And my lovely husband has been in his office for the past two days programming a new game.”

“You know, I hear that parent of twins are twice as likely to go insane as parents of single children.”

“I believe that. I guess it'll be a bit more than an hour then, cause I have to shovel.”

“Yeah. Why are you bringing them over, again?”

“Because, they're at the age now that they remember when we put thing in the cart. Which is wonderful, because I love watching them grow up, but it's also awful. Oh! And the school had them write letters to Santa yesterday, but decided to deliver those letters directly… I'm afraid they might have gotten lost in the mail. And I think that means Santa had no idea what to get for them.”

“Don't worry about that. Give us a bit. Go to the hardware store or whatever middle aged shit you have to do first. We’ll get you the list.”

“Hey! I'm the same age as you! And Ashton’s a year older!”

“Why are you talking about me?” Ashton said, walking in with two dogs in tow. He was red from the cold and the work, sweat was making him shiny. He looked beautiful as he took his layers off. 

“Calum thinks he isn't middle aged,” Luke said “also we’re babysitting in like two hours.”

“Oh Cal you are *so* middle aged!”

“You're older than me!”

“That's true, but you have kids. That ads like at least ten years to the middle aged column,” Ashton said, coming and sitting down next to Luke at their counter. He smelled like the kind of sweat only shoveling can bring. 

“Fine. You're sure you can get a list from them?”

“It won't be hard. They're fucking four. They're not master spies keeping a secret or anything. We can get you the list. Go buy your professional-grade cleaning supplies.”

“I hate you. But thank you. I'm gonna go get my husband to come watch the kids, shovel, and then we’ll be on our way. Goodby-- wait, I did call Ashton, right?”

“Yes. This is Ashton’s phone. He was shoveling, so I answered it.”

“Great. Thank you. I just had to check. I thought I was going crazy.”

“You probably are,” Ashton threw in. 

“Alright, well goodbye. See you soon.”

“Bye,” Ashton and Luke replied at the same time. 

“Alright,” Ashton said, getting up and kissing Luke’s head “I'm gonna go shower. I smell like sweat and wet dog.”

****

When Michael and Calum arrived two hours later, Ashton’s hair was just starting to curl up again. Robbie, who had pin-straight hair and was always fascinated by both Ashton’s and his father’s hair, noticed immediately. 

“Your hair is kinda like mine!” He exclaimed, as Ashton bent down to hug him. 

“It is! Only for a little bit though, buddy. Then it'll get curly again. Don't worry.”

“I wasn't worried. Daddy straightens his hair, but it's still curly. I like it better straight, though.”

“My hair? Or your daddy’s?”

“Daddy’s! Your hair is cool.”

Calum scoffed slightly indignantly in the background. 

“I like your hair, pup,” Michael said, ruffling the curls that were present on Calum’s head because of the clear lack of time he had had that morning. Calum nuzzled a bit into the touch, as Ashton stood, holding Robbie. 

“Well, we should probably get going. They've had lunch, and we should be done by dinner, but if we’re not just feed them whatever,” Calum said, watching as his daughter ran to Luke and began holding onto his leg. They were sort of little monsters, but mostly great kids. 

“Have fun, you two!” Ashton called, shutting the door behind them as they left. 

Ashton and Luke didn't have kids of their own. They did, however, have a nice kid’s room set up for little guests, and there were always plenty of toys. Their house was neater than that of a parent’s, but they made up for the cleanliness with an ever-present spread of crafts across various surfaces. 

The plan, as they saw it, was to help Mali and Robbie make something for Michael and Calum (with clay. It would totally not be a disaster) while pulling what they wanted out of them. Turns out, it was just that simple. 

In no time, the kids were sat at their dining room table, with bake clay in front of them. Ashton was helping Robbie make a fish for Calum, while Luke was cleaning up the clay that fell to the floor as Mali flung it for her sculpture. God was it messy. 

“So,” Ashton said in a gentle voice “what're you two asking Santa for?” Luke quickly got his phone out to text Calum the list. 

“I'm asking for a water slide!” Mali said, never looking up from the clay she was throwing around. 

“I want a dance shoes,” Robbie replied quietly. The fish was looking rather nice, if Ashton did say so himself. 

“And what else?” Luke asked.

 

The kids listed various items. Some eclectic, some fairly normal, until they had comprised a good list for each of them. 

The sculptures, five in total, as Ashton had gotten bored and made a strange face part way through, were ready to be put in the oven. It was almost 4 now, as the sculpting process, especially with the limited motor skills of a four year old, takes a while. 

Gently, Ashton had let Mali and Robbie put their sculptures in the baking pan. He was so soft with them, so sweet. Moments like this, Luke expected to regret their decision.

About six years into their relationship, the night before their wedding, Ashton had revealed to Luke that he didn't want kids. It had been a bit hard to digest, of course, but he loved Ashton more than anything. It didn't take him long at all to realize that yeah, maybe he didn't either. Sure, he loved kids, but it wasn't so bad borrowing other people’s. They were all of their nieces and nephews’s favorite uncles, and there were a great deal of them. Everybody loved having them as a resource, and loved watching them with their kids as well. Honestly, it was the best of both worlds because after they looked after some, and they always did a good job, they could put on pyjamas and watch whatever they wanted, not leaving the house for a week. 

Nonetheless, Luke still expected a pang in his heart occasionally when Ashton did something particularly “father”. He was pleasant surprised when it didn't come. 

Ashton’s phone dinged, and Luke checked it for him. Calum and Michael would be about another hour, and we're having great success. The kids at six usually, and Ashton had given them a snack of carrots and ranch about halfway into their sculpting adventure. 

They spent the remainder of their time with the kids playing a wild imagination game that Mali had come up with. Luke didn't follow it entirely, but it was incredibly creative, and it involved witches and turtles. He wanted to write it down. 

The knock on the door came sooner than Luke had been expecting. Ashton unfolded himself from his sitting position, brushing his now fully-curled hair out of his eyes as he walked to the door. He was in sweatpants and a t-shirt and Luke honestly wondered if he had ever looked better. 

Calum and Michael were greeted with some enthusiasm, some sadness, and four cutely wrapped boxes of presents to open on Christmas from their children. Calum took the kids out to the car, but Michael stayed for just a bit. 

“You guys are lifesavers,” he said. 

“Oh, it was nothing,” Luke replied. He honestly meant it. 

“The amount of Barbies your husband is picking up off the floor suggests otherwise, if I'm honest. But really, thank you.”

“It was no problem. They're so much fun, honestly. We love having them,” Ashton said, joining them at the door. And yeah, he currently had for Barbies in each of his hands. Luke couldn't wait until they were put away, until Michael left, so he could hold those big, sweet hands. 

********

They ate a dinner of frozen waffles and eggnog that night. In bed. It was as much a sign of freedom as it was a sign of whimsy. They were allowed to do this sort of thing, cuddle up in their bed with shitty food and no clothes. It was nice. 

There was a Christmas movie marathon on whatever channel Ashton had chosen, but neither were quite paying attention, too enveloped in each other. Their family all fit on their bed, the dogs curled up next to them. They were a family, and Luke loved absolutely everything about it. 

He held Ashton tightly when they slept that night, not even clothes coming between them. It was a fleeting thought, one that came right before he went to sleep, but “all I need for Christmas is you” would be his mantra for the remained of the holiday season. Sure, it was a slight variation on the original lyrics, but it rang entirely true for them, for their little family.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for giving this one a chance!


End file.
